Adventures Abroad: Czech Republic and Austria

Welcome to installment number two of my final three international trips while studying abroad in Spring 2014! This week proved to be an EXCELLENT adventure with my friends Brittney Beck, Steven O’Neill, Amy Young, Evadine Codd, and Victoria Prince—and also a guest appearance by my friend from Vanderbilt, Haley Trost!! Let’s begin!

Stop #1: Prague, Czech Republic

Our first night into Prague was spent settling and resting, so a majority of our evening actually revolved around our delicious first meal in the Czech Republic. In the cozy courtyard of a local restaurant we ordered off the specials menu the most authentically Czech meal we thought possible: either hot mulled wine or “grog” (rum, hot water, lemon, sugar), beef goulash (surprisingly amazing with potato-like bread), and apfelstrudel for dessert!

Day two in Prague marked our official kick-off to exploring the quaint city. Prague, like many others in Europe, is has old and traditional heritage that is extremely well preserved. One can feel its unique character when walking through the winding alleys and simply admiring the ancient yet colorful buildings surrounding on all sides.

Despite a chilly rain, we set off in high spirits to the Prague Castle, which sits atop a hill overlooking the city (directly next to our renovated 17^th-century mansion hostel!). The palace grounds were sprawling, considering the small area available on the hilltop, and beautiful.

We walked then to the Old Town Square with its famous clock. While waiting for the hour to change, we were glad to walk among the dozens and dozens of Easter market stalls that had sprung up in the square! All sorts of goods were on display: painted porcelain eggs, Prague souvenirs, lace and linens—and not to mention the food! We stopped at all sorts of pastry, apple cider, wursten, and even a hot honeyed wine stall.

Other activities of the day included walking across the famous Charles Bridge, which was built in the 15^th century as the only means of crossing the Vltava River and gave great views of the city skyline, and visiting a little shop cheerfully called the Gingerbread Museum! Famous for this dessert, the shop had intricately and delicately iced gingerbread creations. We partook in more than a few samplings ;)

You bet I love Praha gingerbread!

Stop #2: Vienna, Austria

After taking a (very) early morning bus from Prague, we walked about the city on our own little walking tour of our next stop—Vienna, Austria! Must-sees included the Hofburg Palace in the center of the city (the winter residence of the Hapsburgs), as well as St. Stephan’s Cathedral. The immediacy of the imperial Hapsburg architecture created a sense of splendor and grandeur, mixed in with very modern street cafes and high-end shops of the crowded, yet refreshingly bustling, city center.

The following day proved just as excellent when we traipsed over to the Schönbrunn Palace, which served as the Hapsburg family summer residence. To me, this is the most grand of the Viennese palaces. I had already toured the interior of the palace on a previous trip to Austria, and so what struck me the most were the extensive and unbelievably beautiful gardens.

 Within them were a classical Greek fountain, tulip gardens, and a zoo (which was originally the Hapsburg’s private collection of exotic animals). We also explored the three hedge mazes and labyrinths, which definitely provided us entertainment, and walked up the hill opposite the palace. From the top near the beautiful gloriette, we had a nice view of Vienna, and relaxed in the grass eating waffles and wurst. Two of our friends had the whim to roll down part of the hill. (Hilarity ensued, and I as well as several other tourists were greatly entertained.)  

The whole gang :) best travel buddies I could ask for!

Stop #2.1: Vienna with Haley!

While my friends moved on to Budapest, I stuck around in Vienna to meet up with Haley! After not seeing each other for four months, it was a happy reuniting that completely reenergized me. With her, I got to see a whole new side of the city from an insider’s perspective! We started with no better way than an afternoon catching up together in one of Vienna’s famous coffee shops, the Leopold Hawelka.

Inside this venerated, dimly-lit, smoky café where the waiters are tuxedoed and the menu is unwritten, great Viennese thinkers had come to have coffee and discuss philosophy; we satisfied ourselves by ordering strudel and the local specialty, sachertorte (a sour chocolate cake). We ate at plenty cafes like this one over the two days, and played a kind of game: The dining experience would count as a success if the waiter never switched to English in the course of the meal (Haley and I have both taken German, but I can’t say we are “confident” in our Deutsch knowledge). Regardless, the food was always delightful!

The view from above!

Afterwards Haley took me to Prater, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. The box-car ferris wheel made famous by the film The Third Man was there! We entertained ourselves by going on the high swings (which we think proooobably should have been closed when we encountered our swing chains rather frighteningly twisting in the high winds) and a bizarre children’s ride in the style of “It’s A Small World” full of alarming-looking figurines depicting German fairy tales.

 

Having gotten our adrenaline fix, we resumed our more cultured tour by walking around the gardens of the beautiful Belvadiere Palace, and that evening were treated by Haley’s friend’s parents (visiting at the time) in the somber-turned-cheerful cellar of a very authentically Viennese restaurant, the Zwölf-Apoftelkeller Stadtheuriger, which describes itself as “a piece of Viennese tradition where one can dine in the historical ambience from the year 1339”!

Modelling my lovely Dirndl... in Galway

Day two with Haley began with perhaps the single most exciting part of the trip—Dirndl shopping!!! (Only kidding about it being the most exciting part. Kindof.) Haley had already bought a dirndl for herself, so she took me to an outlet so that I could pick out my very own. As the female equivalent to lederhosen, a dirndl is the traditional German/Austrian outfit for women. It included a white undershirt, dress, apron, petticoat, and even shoes, white long socks, and a shawl-scarf; I stuck with just the white top, a green dress, and a red apron with little green deer on it myself. Haley and I have already planned to wear ours together this next Halloween at Vanderbilt and only speak in German the entire day (Haley, if you’re reading this, I just made the German speaking part up but I think it’s a good idea). Given its color, I can’t say that it won’t make an appearance at a Christmas party either.

Nikolaus Schmidt, Ornamental Basin with Ewer, ca. 1592

In the afternoon Haley went to class, leaving me with the opportunity to visit the Kunsthistorischemuseum (the Art History Museum). It was an art lover’s absolute heaven! On the first level was the original Hapsburg Kunstkammen: Essentially the earliest form of the art museum, the Kunstkammen (literally translated at “art cabinet”) began as the Hapsburg family’s private collection of exotic artwork and objets d’art that came to be the royal showcase of wealth and artistic splendour. I could have spent all day looking at the pieces, but I thought I’d share a few of my favorites!

This intricate ship by Hans Schlottheim in 1585 is actually an automaton--it can be wound up to reveal tiny rowers rowing in rhythm to a tiny royal band playing actual music while the ship rolls along the table!

Upstairs in the museum was the travelling exhibit of Faberge pieces from Russia’s 18^th/19^th centuries. The timing of this special exhibit was impeccable for me, for it featured the Easter eggs that the Imperial Russian czars had commissioned for their wives for the enormous Russian Orthodox Church celebrations of Easter. My personal favorite was the “Trans-Siberian Railway” Easter egg that had commemorated the railway’s opening!

Also upstairs was the museum’s permanent collection of Dutch/Flemish and German masters of the 15^th and 16^thcenturies. Having studied such artists as Dürer and Vermeer in art history courses, I was nearl giddy and grinning to be able to see the paintings in person; I can honestly say that I spent a good 20 minutes standing in front of Peter Bruegel the Elder’s “The Fight Between Carnival and Lent” examining the fine detail and hilarious allegory of the medieval city scene.

After meeting back up with Haley, we headed out to the outskirts of Vienna for dinner. For hundreds of years, families have been maintaining vineyards and run small taverns in which they serve their wines and home-style cooked food. We visited the 330-year-old “Weingut Feuerwehr Wagner Heuriger,” or the “Winery of the Wagner Firebrigade Vineyard.” We ordered schnitzel (surprise) and had the winery’s very own white wine of the month (bottled and labelled in house, too!). It was beyond perfect for my final meal in Vienna, and made for the best last night with the best of friends! I could not have had a better time in Prague and Vienna, and left them reluctantly. However, I still have one more international trip on the way! So, bis später, meine Freunde!

Adventures Abroad: Netherlands & Germany

This week was the first of three international trips I will be taking this last month and a half of my time abroad. Our route for April 8th through 14th wound us from Amsterdam to Vallendar, Germany—und was für eine perfekte Reise!!!

Stop #1: Amsterdam

 I suppose I could say that this was my second go-round in Amsterdam, but the first time I had been with my family was hardly a trip (it was perhaps one day). So this three day exploration of the unique Netherlands city was a trip really all in its own. The canals of this city intersect throughout, crossing this way and that; they make for beautiful, long stretches of very old water-front canal tow homes. (Some had been there for so long that they leaned a bit). The budding trees, the harbinger of spring, and lovely weather made for an all together invigorating feeling. I took most of these pictures while on morning runs through the alleys and streets near our hostel, The Flying Pig (Sidenote: this hostel is AMAZING, if you ever find yourself in need of lodging in Amsterdam. Cheapest prices but seriously the cleanest rooms and bathrooms, kindest staff, and FREE BREAKFAST. It's also on the shop street, which was great for sating our shopping thirst but terrible for our wallets). 

 

One of our necessary and immediate stops was getting a waffle! Though we aren't quite in Belgium, we're close enough. I just had to indulge :)

It was delicious, trust me

We made another necessary trip that afternoon: the Anne Frank house and museum. Though the line was just over an hour of standing, the experience was worth the wait. Visitors can walk through every room of office building and secret annex in which the Frank family secretly lived from 1943 until their arrest by the German police a few years later. I'm sure you have all read The Diary of Anne Frank at some point, so imagine how moving it is to read the words of alternating despair and hope of a teenaged Jewish girl, persecuted by hatred towards her heritage, and eventually sent to death in a concentration camp. I highly recommend visiting this memorial site if you ever pass through. 

Though we weren't allowed to take picture inside, I looked one up and attached it here to show the secret bookcase that hid the annex in the office building that the Frank family lived in. It was quite eery walking through it

In the evening, we figured we would hit the town and see what the nightscene is like in Amsterdam :) We went to this bizarre-yet-fun sounding place called the Amsterdam Ice Bar. It is exactly as it sounds-- a bar that, in its back rooms, is chilled to a cool 15 degrees Fahrenheit!! They gave us thermal ponchos and big mittens to wear as we mingled among the polar bear ice sculptures, but we were still just a bit too cold for comfort ;) Those ice glasses were hard to hold on to, too!

night 4 & 6, icebar1

Deciding to see the city how the locals do, we rented bright yellow bikes for the entirety of the second day. We thought it sounded cute and relaxing, because when in Rome, right? Wrong!! This was the most life-endangering activity I have done in Europe so far!!! Cyclists here have no mercy. With more bikes than people in the city, it makes for a dog-eat-dog rough biking style. They move fast, and will give you one ring of their bike bell before they will run you over (literally). Though we didn't get in any wrecks, I may or may not have fallen off my bike while managing to stay standing. Klutz or skills? I'm going with the latter. 

My friend Hannah on her yellow bike! (We were nervous)

With our bikes we rode to the Museum district of Amsterdam. Here the national, 16th/17th century Dutch masters, modern, and Van Gogh museums were all housed together like little clumps of art havens. Seriously, the plaza was an art historian's dream. My American friend Hannah and I made the tough decision on which to visit, and ended up at the Van Gogh museum. We both have studied and loved his work, so it was exhilarating to see the work of the only ten short (yet wildly prolific) years that the artist actually painted. A fervent member of the avant garde artistic movement, Van Gogh experimented with vastly varying styles in his career; however, his most famous pieces are often associated with and belong to the Neo-Impressionist movement with a colorist style. 

Its those little cups in front!

We continued to shop a little in the museum shops and local market stalls. I got my hands (finally) on some of that blue and white painted Dutch porcelain, in the form of a tiny, delicate espresso set. I also managed to find a small bag of tulip bulbs!! As tulips are my all-time absolute favorite flowers, walking about in the in-bloom spring tulip garden near the national museum was the icing on the cake for my Amsterdam stay. Hopefully the bulbs I plant someday will be as beautiful as these ones are! (Maybe I won't need much of a green thumb though since these bulbs hail from the homeland of tulips themselves!)

Stop #2: Vallendar, Koblenz, and Bonn

The second half of our trip floated us around the western part of Germany, in the Middle Rheinland. Similar to Amsterdam, I had already been to Germany twice, but never to this region. We stayed in Vallendar with some of Hannah's friends who go to Arkansas with her back home. Vallendar itself is a small town in the country, and it had a peaceful, quaint feel to it.

A view of Vallendar town from atop a hill

After relaxing and catching up on our sleep in Vallendar (interestingly enough, we stayed in a nunnery...! Hahah! It's difficult to feel comfortable under those strict and watchful eyes) we took a daytrip to a local city called Koblenz. Though also small, this city along the river was bursting with colorful life and local character. We walked along the river and gardens on the side, which were blooming in the springtime air. The atmosphere and weather were delightfully intoxicating, and we strolled at our leisure to the Kaiser Willheim II memorial, which we actually went all the way up into to see the surrounding river valley and the flags representing each German state rippling in the breeze.

Walking through the lovely little alleyways and streets of Koblenz!

Kaiser Memorial

And you can't go to Germany without getting Schnitzel, right? We made sure to stop by Biergarten and relax while eating some of that delicious German dish!

It is exactly as delicious as we dreamed it would be

Our trip to Bonn another day was similar, if a bit shorter. We mostly toured the sights on foot, and didn't do much since it was Sunday (In Germany, everything is closed on Sundays. It can be quite bothersome really). I'll just include some of the prettier pictures here that I took while we walked! Enjoy these, and I look forward to writing my next post about Prague and Vienna, which I leave for tomorrow!! Aufwiedersehen!!